Vang Vieng: Caving

We did decide to stay one more day in Vang Vieng. Since we are breaking away from our TAT itinerary, we will have to cover the night’s accommodations and the next day’s bus to Vientiane. I did the math and the additional cost is a little over 30 dollars…no big deal. We are having a good time with our trekking friends so it is worth it.

The plan for the day is to do some trekking and cave exploration in the cliffs. We set off to the tubing launch point to begin our trek.



At the tubing launch, we discovered the same crowd that was there the previous day and is probably there every day of the year. It’s hard to believe that the locals put up with it.

We started our hike through the forest and towards the cliffs. At the base of the cliffs, a table of locals demanded we pay a fee before continuing. Having no idea what we were paying for, we forked over the kip and hiked on.

The trail led us up a treacherous rock stairway cut out of the cliff. Along the way we encountered a large tree, and for a moment thought that this is what we had paid to see. It took what seemed like an eternity to get to the top. Every step was a momentous effort, like summiting Everest.





Continuing on, we came to an opening in the side of the cliff where a group of locals were passing out flashlights. Two of them escorted us into the darkness of the hole and down a series of stairs.

As we descended deeper into the cave, the thumping of the techno music from the party below started to fade. At the bottom of the stairs, the cave opened up into a huge cavern. The ceiling was nearly 100 feet above our heads.





The locals prodded us to continue deeper into the cave. I think we dug back nearly a kilometer from the entrance over the course of an hour. Inside the cave we saw strange rock formations, holes, water pools, and creatures with no eyes and very long antennas.







At one point we all turned off our lights and stood in complete darkness and silence for a moment. What an experience! In the cave, there is no concept of night or day or time at all. We wondered if we might return to an alternate reality or the land of the giants. The environment is so foreign that it makes you think all sorts of strange things.

At the deepest point in the cave, the ceiling became so low that you had to duck to avoid striking your head. Not paying attention, and giggling about something, I turned around and smacked my head straight away on a stalactite (or is it stalagmite?). It bled just a little bit and the group had a roaring laugh over the whole ordeal.



As we made our way back to the entrance, all we could see was darkness. Eventually we rounded a corner where we could see a pinhole of light off in the distance. As we made our way near it, a familiar sound returned….techno.

At the entrance of the cave, we sat and contemplated the whole experience. Vang Vieng is such a strange place. The beauty and natural wonders and lifestyle of the local people sit in such contrast with the party, party tourist degenerates. It is a wonderful and horrible place at the same time. This would be a great location for a documentary on how tourism can ruin a place.





We spent the evening in typical fashion, drinking Beer Lao and observing the circus of piss drunk tubers returning from the day’s battle. At some point in the night a “happy” menu was placed in front of us. We must just have that look about us.



Tomorrow, we move on to Vientiane for only one night, then we fly down south to Phuket. So long trekking friends. John, Deirdre, Trevor, and Kelsey, it has been a pleasure!

See all our photos here.